Residents of Jonestown, Mahaica, are concerned about the length of time that contractors are taking to construct a bridge in the community, and are calling on authorities to provide clarity on the situation.
In a letter to Stabroek News published yesterday, a resident, Bernel Wickham, vented his frustrations about the ongoing construction. Wickham stated that residents are happy that the bridge is being reconstructed, however, when the project was started, residents and road users were not notified.
Furthermore, Wickham expressed grievance over the fact that contractors did not see fit to indicate to commuters that construction is ongoing and identify an alternative route, that there are no reflectors placed to caution those traversing the road at night, and the distance commuters are now forced to travel as a result of the construction, among other issues.
“For vehicles to get to pass the site, the drivers must use Sari Turn Dam, Lima Dam and two streets – a distance of about 1,000 metres. By the time this project is completed, the already bad Sari Turn Dam will get worse and will then need remedial works,” Wickham complained.
“Due to the above…several Mahaica minibuses refuse to drive on the Old Road, thereby adding further inconvenience to the residents of Jonestown, who now either have to walk half a mile to the junction by the Mahaica Police Station or junction of Lima Dam and the New Road to catch a bus,” he further noted.
The letter writer also pointed out that no work has been done on the bridge for over a month and the excavators have been removed.
When Stabroek News made a visit to the village yesterday, it was observed that no signs had been erected to warn drivers and pedestrians about the ongoing construction. Added to that, there are two schools in the area, located north and south of the incomplete bridge.
Right beside the incomplete bridge, a makeshift wooden walkway has been placed. That walkway, however, is in a horrible state, with no side rails to protect pedestrians from falling off the contraption. Crossing the walkway proved that it was unstable and unsafe for pedestrians. Pedal cyclists who attempted to cross the unstable bridge had to dismount and push their bicycles over.
Minibus operators, while passing by, expressed their frustrations with having to use an alternate route to traverse the area. One motorcyclist who was passing at the time, told Stabroek News that previously, persons fell into the canal just below the bridge. He stated that he heard construction was paused for the bridge to ‘cure’.
A security officer at one of the schools in the area, Shaundell Singh, related that before the construction commenced, buses would travel straight along Old Road but now have to use an alternate route, which is longer. “The bus would go straight through and go straight through the market, now they got to go all the way around. It’s very hard on us and the drivers, cause we got to leave earlier than usual to come to work and the route is longer” said Singh.
Singh stated that the small walkway beside the incomplete bridge is a major inconvenience and very unsafe for the students of the primary school, who have to use the bridge to get to and from school.
“It’s shaking when you go over it and the children got to go over it. It’s inconvenient but they have to go over it, you see even the guys with the motorbikes got to push over the motorbike and so,” she said.
Singh said that she too was told that the bridge was left to be cured but still no work has been done on it for a few months. “I thought it would’ve done by now, because I saw they finish it to a point and what I was made to understand is that they said it got to cure but I don’t know how that works and how long that should take,” she related.
Another resident, who was making his way out of the village, stated that when the project began some time last year, it would always start and stop. “This thing supposed to finish long now but it just leave like that and we don’t know what exactly going on. It isn’t easy on us, we got to drive all the way around there and the roads ain’t too good. We just want know what exactly going on,” the man said. After stopping on his way out, he then took the alternate route, which has no signs to show that that is the detour that should be taken by drivers.
The residents are hoping that someone in authority will be able to tell them what exactly is occurring and hope that they can maintain better communication with the residents.
